PLAYER RATINGS: Masterclass

Sat, 08 Oct 2016 20:00

OPINION: New Zealand gave an exhibition of how the game should be played and in the process set a few records.

Their 57-15 win over South Africa in Durban equalled the world record (17) for most Test wins in a row, was the All Blacks' highest victory margin over the Springboks ever and also the most points ever scored by a Kiwi team against the Boks.

However, the most telling statistic is that they outscored the Boks by nine tries to nil!

Jan de Koning rates the New Zealand players!

15 Ben Smith:
His ability to put other players into space and his play under the high ball is what sets him apart.8/10

14 Israel Dagg:
Showed his skill in keeping the ball alive and made plenty of metres against a porous Bok defence, but conceded a few turnovers.7/10

12 Ryan Crotty:
Combined brilliantly with Lienert-Brown, even though he did not make as many metres - was still a nightmare for that leaky defence on the opposing side.7/10

11 Waisake Naholo:
Must have thought he was on an unopposed training run - making plenty of clean breaks and beating some non-existing defenders.8/10

10 Beauden Barrett:
His goal-kicking remains an issue, although he had the swirling wind to blame this time round - which also seemed to have affected some of his out-of-hand kicking. However, his general play is still way ahead of the rest.9/10

9 TJ Perenara:
His service was not always accurate, but he had a more than satisfactory performance behind a dominant pack.6/10

8 Kieran Read (captain):
Butchered an early try-scoring chance with a wild pass, but from then on his was pure class - especially the rile he played in the All Blacks' fifth try.8/10

7 Matt Todd:
He had his moments, but probably a lot quieter than would have been expected of him.6/10

6 Jerome Kaino:
Physical as always and a monstrous presence in the contact areas.7/10

5 Sam Whitelock:
Did the basics well and put in a mammoth effort in the dark places - a key player in the effort that neutralised the Bok bruisers.7/10

4 Brodie Retallick:
What can you say about him that has not already been said - the consummate professional that does the basics of his job better than most.8/10

3 Owen Franks:
Wasn't required to do much more than scrum and was solid.6/10

2 Dane Coles:
Cynical penalty in first half and was lucky not to have been carded. The rest of his game was skilful and what you expect of the All Black hooker.6/10

1 Joe Moody:
Not the dominance he was expected to have in the scrums, took to bullying smaller backline players off the ball and conceded a couple of silly penalties.5/10

Replacements:

16 Codie Taylor (on for Coles, 69th minute):
Scored a try and was yellow carded in his short stint. Not enough time to be rated.

17 Wyatt Crockett (on for Moody, 51st minute):
Carried the ball, twice, made all of three metres, made five tackles and missed one. He was steady in the scrums. Nothing special.6/10

18 Charlie Faumuina (on for Franks, 66th minute):
One decent run and made two tackles. Would have expected more from a replacement coming on when the opposition had already given up playing.5/10

19 Liam Squire (on for Kaino, 63rd minute):
Had a couple of really impressive runs and made all but one of his tackles.7/10

20 Ardie Savea (on for Todd, 56th minute):
Failed to make any headway with ball in hand and only made a few tackles. Not the impact that was expected, especially given the dominance his team had.5/10

21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow (on for Perenara, 69th minute):
Not enough time to be rated.

22 Lima Sopoaga (on for Naholo, 63rd minute):
Did the basics well, but made no real impact in a dominant team.6/10

23 George Moala (on for Crotty, 68th minute):
Not enough time to be rated.